Right after the rush of the holidays, January is usually one of my top 3 months of the year for sales. Those after-the-holidays buyers are out in full force buying the things that they want and spending their gift cards and cash. So the beginning of January often just feels like an extension of the busy holiday selling season.

But here we are at the end of the month already! This is when reality starts to set in about all that is before us in the new year. There is bookkeeping to be done, taxes to be prepared, supplies and inventory to restock, new goals to meet and big dreams to be made reality.

Where do you start?

Tidy Up. Start by tidying up all those areas of your business that got a little sloppy and disheveled during Q4. Clear your desk, file paperwork, restock and clean up your shipping and photography areas, and make sure that your listed inventory is put away and easy to find when sold. If your bookkeeping got shoved to the side in Q4, get it caught up and ready for tax time.

Sum Up. Now that the physical clutter no longer surrounds you, sort out the mental clutter. Look back at last year and see what disappointments and successes happened in your business. Did you meet all your goals? Why or why not? If you haven’t yet set goals for 2018, make a couple and then make a plan to achieve them, little-by-little throughout the year. Be sure to include interim goals and rewards along the way to keep you on track and motivated.

Gear Up. 2018 stretches before us with infinite possibilities! Now is the time to plunge headlong into those goals and to work steadily and sincerely at achieving them. If you’ve already faltered in following through with your 2018 goals, stop, reset and start again. There’s no written rule that says you can only start resolutions on January 1st. Get listings up, learn something new and stretch your wings – after all, it’s only 242 days until Q4 is here again!

As 2017 draws to a close, we start looking ahead to 2018. We’re encouraged to set lofty goals, make sweeping resolutions and reach for the stars.

Don’t do that!

Instead, take stock of what goals and resolutions you made for 2017. How did you do? If you met them – bravo! If you fell short or let them go by the wayside, reflect on what happened to bump you off track. What could you have done differently to create success?

I’m not making any resolutions again this year. Instead, I have a monthly plan for tackling my 2018 goal of eradicating the death piles in my home and garage. In addition, I am going to work on establishing a new health habit every other month this year. I’m taking it baby step by baby step and hope to build on my momentum as the year moves along.

A goal of “increase sales by 50%” is no goal. It’s just a dream masquerading as a goal. Without concrete steps outlining just how you are going to achieve such an increase, you won’t be successful. Think about what you will need to do to increase your sales by 50%. Will you need to list more? Source higher value inventory? Hire help? Do you need to branch out to other selling platforms or physically move your business into a warehouse? Do you need to improve your shipping area or learn to take better photos? What steps will move you forward to change that dream into a goal you can achieve?

Share your goals for 2018 over in theDeclutter With Diva Dawn Facebook Group and tell us what steps you’re planning to take to reach those goals by the end of 2018. We’d love to cheer you on throughout the year as you move forward toward completing your goal.

Sometime on Friday Night ...

NOVEMBER 2017

My car battery died Friday night. It was happily powering my car on Friday, but when I hopped in my trusty steed Saturday morning it was dead. No power. Zip. Zilch. Nada. It wasn’t going anywhere!

A friend came by on Sunday and we were able to jump-start it. It just needed an infusion of power and to run for a while so I could get to the repair shop and replace the battery.

Q4 and our eBay businesses are a lot like my car battery. We just chug along doing what we're supposed to until suddenly, without warning, we're done. We make big plans about what we will list leading up to Q4 and during those busy months, and then we slog ahead with tunnel vision to meet those goals.

But suddenly all the steam can run out and we’re left exhausted, with goals unmet and feeling very dissatisfied.

So how do we take advantage of escalating sales during Q4 and still maintain our sanity and celebrate the holidays with our families?

1. Set achievable goals. It’s good to have goals that stretch you – but don’t make them so lofty that you’ll snap before you reach them.

2. Set boundaries. Yes, you can work all day and all night – but is that really the schedule you want to live by? Plan each day by designating what hours you’ll be working and then actually sit down and work your business during that time. You can play with the dog, catch up with your favorite TV shows and wander around Facebook during the rest of your day – just not during your designated working hours.

3. Connect. Just like my car battery needed some borrowed power to get rolling again, we need human interaction to keep us healthy, happy and content. Set aside time to get together with friends, visit with family, chat on the phone with those far away and write quick notes in your holiday cards.

4. Participate. Work is important. It pays the bills, pays for “extras” and gives meaning to our days. But it shouldn’t always get the way of participating in things with family and friends, especially during the holidays. Join in the joy of the season in whatever way is meaningful to you, whether that is baking, singing, gift giving, volunteering or otherwise.

5. Take a break. Sip some egg nog, cozy up to the fire, take a trip. Replace all the frantic listing and shipping with quiet time to rejuvenate your mind and soul.

Are you going to end 2017 tired and exhausted and unable to move forward like my old car battery or will you still be revving your engine with a healthy balance of work and life? Let’s talk about it over in the Declutter With Diva Dawn Facebook Group.

Ups and Downs and the Panama Canal

OCTOBER 2017

We recently returned from an amazing 3 week cruise to Central America and the Panama Canal.

Although we spent some time wandering around the Pacific Ocean dodging what would eventually become Hurricane Nate, we mostly had fabulous sunny weather. I had debated whether or not it was smart to take a long trip right at the start of Q4, but the pros outweighed the cons and off we went!

Going through the Panama Canal was quite an experience. Although we were on a cruise ship, we were but a tiny speck compared to the size of some of the huge freighters that were going through the Canal that same day.

As we stood at the ship’s railing watching as the locks rapidly filled with water and raised our ship in just about 30 minutes, I marveled at the ingenuity that it took to create such an amazing experience. AND, it made me think about how a single, all-consuming focus could raise the level of my business in much the same way.

Q4 is a lot like going through the locks at the Panama Canal. You start at your post-summer level and “ramp up” your sourcing, listing and shipping to take your business to greater heights of sales and profitability.

Narrow Your Focus. Your goals and daily activities should be narrowed down so that you are only focusing on the essential tasks to propel your business upward. For me, that is customer care (answering questions, responding to offers and shipping purchases) and listing. My sourcing has already been done, photos have been taken, and shipping supplies are here and at the ready.

Lift Upward. The power of all that water coming into the locks raised that large cruise ship quickly and effortlessly. Listing consistently and in good quantity will do the same for your business. Continue to add new and interesting inventory to your store every day for your buyers to find and your sales will grow.

Sail Through. Once you’ve got things listed be sure to store them so you can find them quickly when you make a sale. Buyers want to be sure that those holiday gifts arrive in plenty of time.

Make it an Event. Spending hours a day listing listing listing can start to feel boring, so add some fun. Add some holiday music in the background to keep you in the mood. I have a friend that rings a bell every time she completes a listing to celebrate her accomplishment. Enter into a listing challenge with friends to keep you motivated. Drop a penny (or nickel, dime or quarter) into a jar every time you finish a listing and then reward yourself at the end of the month and go spend that stash.

Celebrate the Season. Don’t forget to take the time to celebrate with your family’s favorite holiday traditions. Whether that is baking, decorating, wrapping gifts, holiday caroling or gathering with friends – be sure to get a good healthy dose of holiday happenings in each and every week. Q4 may be all about profits to your business, but Q4 carries other meanings to our family and we don’t want to focus solely on the work and miss out on all the fun.

I was walking on the treadmill at the gym today and thinking about what I wanted to talk to you about this month. But my mind kept wandering, mostly because I HATE walking on the treadmill. It all seems so pointless – all those steps and you end up going nowhere.

Sometimes that is how I feel about my eBay business. I spend a lot of time sourcing, researching, listing, doing social media, taking photos, shipping and doing bookkeeping, only to repeat it all again the next day.

But what I’ve learned from my trainer is that just walking on the treadmill IS tedious and that in order to get the most benefit from my time on the treadmill I need to vary the settings and how I approach my daily “walk”. There are times when I need to stroll at a comfortable pace and other times when I need to hike up that incline and tackle that hill at a quick and breath-stealing pace.

So too is my eBay business. Q4 is right around the corner. And while we’ve all been enjoying summertime activities and vacations and fun weekends at garage sales and flea markets these past few months, now is the time to quicken our pace and get our listings ramped up and our businesses accelerating into Q4. It’s time to put our heads down and plunge full steam ahead repeating the mantra: List! List! List!

That doesn’t mean to get listings up whatever the cost. You still need to do your research. You still need to take great product photos. You still need to take the time to do your bookkeeping and marketing. You still need to get those shipments out on time. You still have a family and a life.

Q4 is all about focus.

Hurry Up! Get those photos taken and get those listings up ready for the holiday buyers.

Slow Down! Don’t forget to take care of all the little details in your business as you go, so that January doesn’t find you scurrying to get them all back on track.

Get in the Zone! Find a daily routine that works for you and then work it. Every. Single. Day. Rinse and Repeat. Over and Over. One foot in front of the other.

Q4 is all about the intensity of your effort and your daily commitment to do the work. You aren’t walking on a treadmill and going nowhere -- you’re propelling your business forward with every step you take.

What keeps you motivated and listing throughout Q4? How do you vary your days and activities and yet get all the routine stuff done? Let’s talk about it over in the Declutter With Diva Dawn Facebook Group.

Back-to-School and Work DO's and DON'Ts

AUGUST 2017

Just like the beginning of each new calendar year, we get a chance to reset at back-to-school time. It’s the beginning of that cycle we’re so familiar with from our childhoods. As online entrepreneurs it’s also the perfect time to reset for Q4.

DO – Stock up on Supplies. Nothing is better than brand new pencils and notebooks at the beginning of the school year – you’re ready to take on all that new stuff to learn. Stocking up on your business supplies now and knowing that you have all the supplies you’ll need on hand means it’s easier to work without running out of essentials and scrambling to find them when you’re extra busy shipping and listing.

DON’T – Miss the Bus. If you miss the bus you’ll miss all the neat new things you should be learning at school, and you’ll fall behind because you’ll have all that make-up work to do plus all your regular work. Don’t fail to get started. Start now and set goals and follow through with them every day. Even a goal of creating one new listing a day means you’ll create more than 125 new listings by year end. And just 4 new listings a day will become more than 500 new listings by the end of the year. Don’t miss the bus and get a late start. Start loading up your inventory for Q4 now!

DO – Your Homework. You need the reinforcement of your lessons that homework gives you. It’s your chance to take what you learned in class and apply it independently. In your business you can’t just do the fun parts of online selling like sourcing (unless, of course, you’ve hired help to do all the un-fun stuff). You still need to follow through with all the facets of your business like social media, shipping, writing descriptions, creating listings and bookkeeping.

DON’T – Hang Out with the Wrong Crowd. Attitude is everything. If you hang out with the bullies on the playground you’ll start to act and think like them. Instead you’ll want to make friends with the “good kids”. In business you want to hang out with good sellers, interesting people and those that are stretching the boundaries of their businesses and continuing to grow. Don’t hang out with negative people who are always bashing platforms, buyers and other sellers. Keep it positive!

DO – Look Forward to Lunch and Recess. Your brain needs breaks from classroom learning for nourishment and relaxation. Lunch and recess are two great examples of giving your brain a rest and firing up those happy endorphins. In your business you work hard and you deserve breaks and rewards like lunch and recess. Keep it real. You can’t work 24 hours a day or you’ll burn out. Be sure to give yourself plenty of downtime too so that you’ll approach each new day with enthusiasm and energy.

DON’T – Get Detention. Acting up in class or failing to do your homework assignments could land you in detention and give you a bad reputation. Just like in school, in your business you shouldn’t skate on the edges of the rules – you’re bound to slip over the line sometimes. Follow best practices, work diligently and serve your customers’ needs above all else.

Let’s make this year one to be proud of! Let’s have no regrets, no disappointments and have nothing to feel guilty about. Let’s all graduate with high honors this Q4 and celebrate with skyrocketing sales and lots of money in our business bank accounts.

I’m not here to tell you that that’s a bad thing … or a good one. It all depends on what you want to get out of being social in your business and what you want to project.

First, there’s being social in person. That encompasses chatting on the phone or Skype, appearing on podcasts, and in-person encounters like attending Meet-Ups and live events like the upcoming eBay Open.

Who you are physically counts here. Are you neatly groomed, do you speak articulately, do you have something to say and contribute? Are you enthusiastic and supportive or full of complaints and negativity?

And then there’s being social online. It’s so much easier to hide behind your profile picture or your latest shared post. What is more difficult is to be authentic in your business posts, while leaving your personal drama behind.

What you post online matters. Be friendly. Be confident. Impart your wisdom. Ask for ideas and input. Share your successes and the joy that you have for your business. Connect!

If you struggle with what to post for your business, set aside some time each week to brainstorm topics for the week or to search the web for interesting content to share. You might even work on themes, like posting a photo on Monday, asking a question on Tuesday, sharing a quotation on Wednesday, posting a “remember when” post for Throwback Thursday, etc.

Do you struggle with being social at events? Are you worried that you won’t know anyone at the Meet Up, that you’ll ask a silly question or that you’ll be overwhelmed by all that is happening at eBay Open? If you’re feeling that way, you can bet that there are plenty of others feeling the same thing.

Before you head out to attend any function, have a couple of opening lines or questions to ask new acquaintances. Basic things like, “what do you sell?”, “how long have you been selling on eBay?” “where are you from?” “what are you hoping to learn?” “what do you know about the speaker?”, etc. are all great conversation starters. Then listen and participate in the conversation.

Whether you’re being social online or in person -- be prepared. Be prepared to talk about your business, about yourself, about your concerns and your successes. And be prepared to listen and engage with others. Being social is not flitting from person to person, event to event, topic to topic. Be prepared to let the genuine you connect with those you meet. You’ll learn a lot. You’ll make new friends. And you’ll go home wondering why you were worried about going in the first place!

How do you manage your business social life? If you find being social easy, share your best tips and tricks over in theDeclutter With Diva Dawn Facebook Group. And if you struggle with the social requirements of your business, share what terrifies you the most and we'll help you brainstorm some ideas to make it a little less terrifying.

Summer Is Here!

JUNE 2017

The weather has warmed up, school is out and vacations are on our mind. For most online sellers, the slow selling season is upon us and we are caught between the desire to “play hooky” a bit and to dig in and get some things done in our business that we just don’t have time to do the rest of the year.

What will you be doing this summer?

Will you be searching for new inventory? Purging slow sellers? Getting your ecommerce stores filled with fabulous inventory ready for those holiday buyers? Getting caught up on bookwork? Reorganizing inventory? Training employees and VAs ready for your busy season?

Do you have the best of intentions to get a bunch of organizing tasks done this summer but are afraid it will be like every other year and you’ll run out of summer before you get much accomplished?

Let’s change that!

I’ll be hosting Camp Clutter B Gone throughout the month of July this year. Just click on the Camp Clutter B Gone image below to sign up --

It’s FREE!

Each day you will receive an email that focuses on one area of your online business and challenges you to complete a small organizational mission themed around traditional Summer Camp activities.

Let’s make this a fun, productive and exciting July for our businesses.

Did you ever jump in puddles after a rainstorm and send water (and sometimes mud) spraying out everywhere? As a kid you probably giggled and laughed with joy at the mess and chaos you just created. As adults, we would probably walk around or leap over that puddle to avoid getting wet and creating a mess.

As business owners we are adults. We do the work. We track our numbers. We set up systems and processes and create order and set goals. But sometimes we need to be kids and jump in that puddle and create a little chaos – even in our businesses.

Is your business perfect? Is sourcing easy, listing quick, shipping a breeze, inventory warehoused impeccably, and sales steadily increasing? Do you have enough hired help, is your bookkeeping up-to-date, do you have a great following on social media, is your desk always clean and tidy?

Do you long to attack your current inventory and get it sorted, listed and warehoused in a better system – or in some systemized way at all? Or maybe it’s your lackadaisical bookkeeping that gives you nightmares but it seems overwhelming to think about so you put it off until tax time and then that nightmare becomes all too real? Maybe you dream of pretty labeled file folders in a filing cabinet where you can quickly find the paperwork that you need, but your current filing system is a bunch of boxes or tubs filled with piles and piles of random paper.

I’m here to tell you to jump in that puddle! Create a little chaos. Dive in right where you are.

Do you want to set up a new or better inventory system but the thought of moving your current inventory into the new system is overwhelming? Don’t worry about all that “other” inventory. Start today and create your new system. Design it, plan it out, buy the shelves or totes or racks or whatever you need to make it functional.

Then start with what you list today. Process it according to your new system. Warehouse it under the new plan. It will be beautiful and streamlined and perfect. Then do the same thing tomorrow. And the day after that. Pretty soon you’ll have a whole month’s worth of inventory that is part of your new inventory plan. And that’s an entire month’s worth of inventory that wasn’t added to your “imperfect” old system.

As time goes on you’ll sell some of that inventory that’s in your old system. You’ll tweak and refresh some of those older listings and can then move that inventory in your new inventory plan. And some of those inventory items will need to be purged and released – and aren’t you glad you didn’t waste time and effort transferring them to your new system?

If going back and catching up your bookkeeping feels like a daunting task – don’t do it (yet …). But start fresh with this month and take an hour or two and print out your reports, crunch your numbers and total up your income and expenses. And do the same every month from here on out. When tax time rolls around you’ll only have those few missing months to catch up instead of a whole year. And next year … WOW. If you spend a little time every single month tallying your numbers, tax time will be a breeze.

Is it your filing (or lack thereof) that’s making you crazy? Is the thought of sorting and filing all those boxes and piles of paper enough to make you want to light a bonfire?

Ignore those paper piles for now. Start today and create files for all the papers currently on your desk and put them in a cabinet or file box. Do the same thing tomorrow and the next day and the next with incoming paperwork. After a month of daily filing you’ll be ready to tackle some of your paper backlog while keeping up with what’s newly arriving. If you spend just 15 minutes a day on that backlog, eventually you will process it all and have it filed away in your cabinet or in that wonderful round file called the trash can.

Jump in that puddle right where you are. Splash around. Change things up. Start today. Keep going tomorrow. And the next day … and the next. Before you know it the sun will come out and dry up that puddle and you’ll be left with something wonderful – a sunshiny, sparkling, organized business.

One month is coming to an end and another is about to begin. The first flush of the brand new year is behind us and March signals the last month of the first quarter of 2017. Time sure flies by – especially when we’re busy.

And busy is what my world has been in 2017 so far. We enjoyed a fabulous 2-1/2 week vacation to the Caribbean in January. I planned for my store to be closed during that time. I was up-to-date on my listing, bookkeeping and current projects. I could totally unplug, relax and enjoy the balmy breezes, sunshine and slower pace to my days. A few days before we returned home I re-opened my store and sales started up again.

I spent my first day back home shipping lots of packages. It felt good to get back into the swing of things and I had lots of plans for the rest of the week.

But you know what they say about the best laid plans …

The next morning I woke up with the flu – and it was nasty. I barely moved farther than the couch for the next 10 days. So much for momentum from my relaxing vacation!

The following week was spent playing catch up on all the things I didn’t get done while ill. My friend Mandy was in town visiting that week and I spent time with her thrifting, gambling and hanging out on several different days. We had a lot of fun, she scored some fabulous finds to sell on eBay and we shopped, laughed and celebrated her birthday.

The day Mandy returned home, hubby and I dropped her off at the airport and headed to the hospital where he was scheduled to have back surgery a few hours later.

Thus began another stretch of time where I wasn’t able to do much work. He spent 5 days in the hospital, which meant I was there all day every day except to come home to sleep. And when he was released, I discovered that he was going to need more of my help than we had anticipated. He wears a large clamshell-like brace and has to be strapped in – and out – several times a day. He can’t shower alone, needed help moving, getting out of bed, sitting in a chair … doing just about everything at first.

And such is the story of the first two months of 2017 for me. My business has taken a backseat to my life. My goals and plans for January and February have flown out the window. I could just give up and limp along for the rest of the year and wait for the annual January 1st reset. But then I would just be marking time and wasting the rest of the year waiting for that arbitrary “begin fresh” date.

It’s time to reboot!

For me, that means scaling down my expectations of what I will accomplish in the first quarter of 2017. I really only have one month of that quarter in which to get things done, so I need to set priorities.

My big goal for 2017 is to reduce my unlisted inventory backlog by more than 50%. And I hadn’t done a single thing about working on that goal since the beginning of 2017. I have several shelves jammed full of unlisted inventory, as well as a few stacks of boxes stashed around my house. When I look at it all it feels overwhelming and that isn’t a feeling that empowers me.

So here’s what I did:

First, I identified one shelf of unlisted inventory that I will get processed and ready for listing in February and I’ve been working on that very full shelf this past weekend.

Then I took Post It Notes and labeled four additional shelves “MARCH”. To move forward with my goal, I will sort, process and list one shelf each week in March. No sourcing for me during this entire time because I don’t want to add to any backlog.

And when next quarter rolls around, I am going to be labeling shelves “APRIL”, “MAY” and “JUNE” and keep the process rolling forward.

I am not going to fret about what I didn’t accomplish in January and February. I am going to celebrate what I DO get done the rest of the year. I am not going to be overwhelmed by the sheer volume that is waiting in the wings, I only need to worry about one shelf each and every week. I can do that.

I may not juggle dozens of projects this year, but that is okay. What I do accomplish will bring me peace of mind and that can be a game changer.

You, too, can reboot your life, your goals and your plans at any time. It doesn’t have to be January 1st. Did you make resolutions at the beginning of the year that have since fallen by the wayside? Have you fallen short of the goals you set earlier in the year?

You can reboot now!

You get a clean slate every single day. Set one or two priorities for that day and then go for it. Now is the perfect time to reset those goals into smaller, more doable chunks.

My first listing on eBay was far from perfect – yet that was what I wanted it to be. I recently talked about creating that first listing at Lynn Dralle’s Live Boot Camp in 2007 with Griff and Lee on eBay Radio. I’m sure you’ll laugh along with us as you hear the story – and you’ll probably see something of yourself in my tale, too.

Perfect slows you down. If you’re waiting for everything to be “perfect” before you start listing – you’ll NEVER actually list anything! Perfect can be paralyzing!

Here are 10 Tips to get you organized “enough” to get listing so buyers can buy your merchandise:

1. Know what you have listed and not listed. Keep separate storage places for each. If it’s comingled you might think that that trinket is listed … but maybe it’s not …

2.Start small. If you are overwhelmed by too much unlisted inventory, grab one box, one bag, one tote and concentrate only on that merchandise. Even one box every other day adds up to FIFTEEN boxes of listed inventory in a single month!

3.Work in assembly line fashion. List batches of similar merchandise. Take a batch of photos, then edit them all. There’s a reason why the automakers don’t build one car and when that car is done, start all over again. It’s much faster to do multiples of one task all at the same time and then move on to the next task.

4. Don’t go down the “Research Rabbit Hole”. It’s important to research items for keywords and pricing, but don’t spend too much time on research. I set a timer for 3 minutes when I need to research something. When my 3 minutes are up – I’m done. A small time window forces me to be really diligent in finding what I’m looking for and not following links off into infinity. If in those 3 minutes I discover that the item is really rare or valuable, I allow myself an additional 5 minutes to research – but that is all. No more.

5. Have a great photo set up so you can take good pictures that don’t require much editing. Good photos are important – but only if you can edit them quickly for your listings. Tweaking photos can be time consuming – and that’s time better spent listing.

6. Know how you are going to ship the item you’re listing. What carrier will you use? Will it go First Class? Ground? Priority? Do you need a box or just a polymailer?

7. Keep a scale near where you list so you know the weight of the item. And keep a list of the weights of your common sized boxes nearby so you can enter that info into the listing if you use calculated shipping or use that information to calculate your price including free shipping.

8.Set a specific (and realistic!) listing goal each and every day. It may be 3 listings a day. Or 13. It may be that you will sit down and focus on getting listings up from 9:30 am to 11 am. Announce on Facebook that you’ll be listing for the next hour, or that you’re going to get 5 new listings up – no matter what. Then focus on doing what you said – and let your FB friends know when you meet your goal so you can bask in the “atta-boys”.

9.Have an inventory storage system in place. And don’t spend too much time re-organizing your system over and over again. That’s a good way to “misplace” inventory and it’s certainly a big waste of time to just keeping moving your inventory around on your shelves.

10.Save “perfect” for those things that really matter – like keeping a “perfect” on-time shipping score!

Stop trying to be perfect – good enough usually works just fine.

I'd love to hear from you over on theDeclutter With Diva Dawn Facebook Group. Let's talk about where perfection slows your listing down and what strategies help you overcome perfection paralysis.

Tricks AND Treats

OCTOBER 2016

It might sound very spooky and “other-worldly”, but if you act on these 3 simple Tricks you will reap some fabulous Treats this month.

1. Add Help. Whether you hire permanent or seasonal help or conscript a family member or friend, adding another pair of hands to help in your business yields BIG results.

I added a college student to list for me this fall. I provide her with all the info and photos and she prepares the listings. She contracted to do 50 listings a week and I pay her $1 per listing. The very first week she listed for me, 4 of the items she listed sold. One was a Pokemon Wilton Cake Pan that sold at auction for $40 -- which by itself pretty much paid for her that week!

It’s easy to add some part time help. Hire someone to list, ship, take and/or edit photos, clean and press clothing, do your accounting, housework or some other chore. With the time that you free up you can get more inventory processed and listed or even spend that time sourcing new awesome merchandise.

2. Take Stock. Knowing what you already have helps you know what you need – or don’t need. Be sure to get that seasonal inventory listed instead of it being hidden in a box on a back shelf. Last year I missed listing over 100 Christmas ornaments because I didn’t realize they were in that landscape lighting box in the garage. You can be sure they’ll all be listed in time for holiday buying this year!

It’s also important to know what shipping supplies you have on hand and how quickly you’re going through them during Q4. But if they’re scattered all over the place you just might not have the right size box or envelope to ship a purchase and spend precious time hunting down a box, or worse yet, have to go out and pay retail to buy one. And don’t forget about tape, stickers, labels and package enclosures. Having plenty of each on hand during the holiday season will ensure that you’re not in a panic re-ordering them and crossing your fingers that they show up before you’ve completely run out.

3. Like with Like. There’s a reason Henry Ford used the assembly line to build cars. Imagine how long it would take to build one car if you started from scratch and built it piece by piece until it was finished and then started all over from the beginning again to build a second car!

Working in batches is the key to getting more done more efficiently. Taking 100 pictures and then editing them all and then listing all those items instead of processing items individually keeps you moving forward in one direction instead of starting over and over and over again with each new item to list.And to make it even more efficient, list like items at the same time. List a batch of coffee mugs, or a batch of flatware, or a batch of Hawaiian shirts or a bunch of t-shirts. You’ll be able to use eBay’s Sell Similar function and only need to change pertinent information while much of the listing will be the same as the one before.

We wait at traffic lights, in line at the bank and grocery store, we sit and wait our turn at the doctor or dentist, and we cool our heels while we stand in line to get a table to eat out.

We tend to think of congestion as a bad thing -- but if you look at it as a sign of where things are backing up and need modifying, then congestion can be a good thing!

What’s congested in your business? Where do you need to make changes and adjust the status quo?

Some common places where you might spot congestion are:

Your desk – is it piled high with, well, piles?Sure, you can eventually lay your hands on something ‘cuz you know which pile it’s in, but wouldn’t it be nice to have some desk space to work on?

Your shipping area – do you have other things creeping in and taking over your shipping space? Do you have to clear a table or other flat surface just to prepare your shipments? Having a cleared, dedicated space to prep shipments with all your supplies close at hand will speed up the time you spend getting your sales out the door and on the way to your buyers.

Your listed inventory – even if you have a fabulous system for storing your listed inventory, if you don’t review it and purge periodically, you’ll find yourself overwhelmed by the sheer amount of space it needs. And if your storage system isn’t all that fabulous – listed inventory will be willy nilly everywhere and it will be a challenge to find it to ship.

Your unlisted inventory – is it a manageable size or just a huge pile (or room or garage or storage unit or …) full of guilt and spent money? What can you do to get things moving from this limbo? Do you need to list more? Source less? Purge and donate? Getting unlisted inventory down to a manageable amount and not letting it grow and expand in size again is a great goal to work toward.

Congestion can be bad – it can slow us down, cause us stress and turn simple tasks into wild goose chases.

But congestion can also be good – it’s a barometer of what needs to be changed, tweaked or reworked in your business.

So look around you. What congestion are you dealing with in your business? What needs tweaking to make you more productive, your surroundings more efficient and your business more profitable?

You see them everywhere – all the signs that tell you that it’s Back-to-School time. Fall clothing and shoes, school supplies, brown bag lunch ideas, backpacks in a dazzling array of colors and designs, and even Halloween (yikes!) displays.

Wait! It seems like summer just started and you want me to focus on ending all the summer fun, vacations, lazy days at the beach or by the pool, visiting with family, traveling, picnics and barbeques?

Yep … I’m afraid so. Just as we gradually ease our kids back into a school schedule by starting bedtime routines up again and shopping for new clothes and all those endless school supplies, we need to ease ourselves back into a productive work routine.

*sigh*

The lazy summer slump days are coming to an end and we need to gear up and make the last quarter of 2016 absolutely awesome. Here are 3 things you can do to get ready for Back to School Work this fall.

Buy Back-to-School Clothes (Dress Up Your Business). Maybe you need to stock up on Q4 inventory – get it photo’d and processed and listed so that those early bird buyers can see that you’ve got just what they’re looking for.

Maybe you need special graphics for your website, eBay store or social media. Get them designed, hire them out and have them ready to launch when you need them instead of scurrying to finish them at the last minute.

Maybe you need to upgrade your photo studio, backdrops or camera to give your Q4 listings extra polish. Get them in place and learn how to make the most of them before you’re rushing around in Q4.

Buy Those School Supplies (Stock Up on Business Supplies). Buy common office supplies now while they’re on sale. There’s nothing like new pens, notepads and desk accessories to help motivate you to keep your desk tidy and functional.

Take a box and shipping supply inventory and re-order those things that always seem to run low. You won't want to waste time when you’re super busy hunting down shipping supplies – have them at the ready.

Do you have too much inventory – listed, stale or unlisted? Sort through it and let go of the underperforming items, inventory that won’t bring in a good ROI or that has damage. Have a garage sale, donate to your favorite charity or drop them in the trash. Just get them out of your way so you have plenty of room to work and process that inventory that IS going to fly off your shelves!

Get Up Early for School (Get Back on a Work Schedule). You’ve probably been enjoying a little lighter of a schedule this summer -- not as much shipping, time with the kids and grandkids, time in your garden and enjoying the out-of-doors, vacations and staycations and time away. It’s time to get back on track and schedule in some productive time to jump start the rest of 2016.

Set a daily “start time” for you to get to your desk and immediately set to work on your most pressing task. For me, that is usually listing, followed by packaging shipments. Practice doing this every day to re-establish good productive work habits. You’ll be glad you eased back into your work routine before Q4 hits so you don’t feel so swamped by escalating sales.

It’s easy to shy away from organizing an unorganized area in our business. It seems so daunting. We have so much to do already, why take on another project? Especially one that will take a lot of time and effort to complete.

But how much time and effort is the disorganization costing you now?

Is disorganized inventory costing you valuable time as you hunt it down to ship? Is a disorganized photo station frustrating because you never have the right backdrop or display tool to take the right photos the first time? Is a disorganized shipping area costing you additional postal charges because you didn’t realize that you just ran out of the perfect sized box to ship something? Is a disorganized office costing you money at tax time because you can’t find deductible receipts or you forgot to record mileage for an entire month?

Here are 4 quick organizing steps you can take right now to help each of those scenarios:

Disorganized inventory – whether you prefer open shelving, bankers boxes, totes, bags, drawers, hanging racks or something else, keeping your listed inventory accessible and easy to locate is one of the most important things you can do for the health of your business. If you often find yourself frantically searching for inventory once it’s sold, it’s time to rethink your storage and retrieval system.

Close your eyes and ask yourself how it would look if it was perfect. Visualize it. Notice every little detail. Now open your eyes and jot down the details of your new system. DO NOT worry about your already listed inventory right now. That is a project for another day and time. But starting today put your new “perfect” system into place with any newly listed inventory. And continue to do so every single day. Before long you’ll have lots of your inventory in your easy to locate and retrieve “perfect” inventory system and you can begin to deal with the older inventory as you decide – whether that is bring it into your new system or purging it.

Disorganized photo station – Fill a basket with all your favorite photo props, like plate stands, clips, a lint brush, gray card, risers, ornament holder, tape, jewelry display stands, extra batteries, alternate backdrops and the like. Keep the basket in your photo station and everything you need to take awesome photos is right there when you need them.

Disorganized shipping area – Gather all your shipping supplies together and designate an assigned place for each size box so you can easily see if you are running low. Compile a checklist of all your standard size boxes and mailers and once a month take a quick inventory count. You will easily be able to see what your most-used sizes are and when demand is the highest.

Disorganized office – Gather all the loose receipts, statements and reports cluttering your desk and put them in a bookkeeping folder, envelope or box on your desk or in a nearby drawer. As you acquire new receipts and statements, add them to the box instead of leaving them lying around on your desk. At tax time you won’t have to hunt around for your tax paperwork because it will all be in one place. Even better – once a month go through the box and tally all your expenses and records for the previous month. Tax time will be a breeze!

What quick organizing solutions have you found that made a big difference in your business? Let’s talk about it over in the Declutter With Diva Dawn Facebook Group. I’d love to hear your ideas and success stories.

Take Advantage of the Summer Slow Down

JUNE 2016

Now let me start with a disclaimer – I know that not everyone experiences a dip in sales during the summer. In fact, for many, summer is peak season.

However, the vast majority of sellers experience peak sales during the winter holidays and have their slowest sales period in the summer. But no matter when your slow period comes, these tips can help you be prepared for when those sales start jumping again.

Tip #1 – LIST

Just because stuff isn’t selling at a breakneck speed doesn’t mean that you should slack off on listing. Keep listing away and stock your store ready for buyers and browsers alike.

This is a great time to deal with all those inventory items you have been putting aside for “later”. Later is now! Research, lot, donate or list all those things that have been piling up while you’ve been too busy to deal with them.

Tip #2 – BRANDING

If you’ve been contemplating a new logo, updating your branding, logo or niche, or fine tuning your SEO, now is the time to take on those projects. Start by making a list of everything you’ll need to do and then tackle those steps one-by-one.

TIP #3 – ORGANIZE SOMETHING

I’m sure there’s some part of your business that isn’t in “perfect” organizational shape – I know there is in my business!

Maybe now is the time to streamline your shipping area so that shipping is easier and more convenient during the holiday rush. You might decide to double check your inventory against your listings, or set up a new inventory storage system. Or maybe you spent way too much time at the beginning of the year catching up on last year’s bookkeeping and haven’t even started to tackle this year’s numbers.

Now is when you have the time to take on a big project and see it through so you can benefit from that organization during the busy months ahead.

TIP #4 – THINK AHEAD TO Q4

What things do you fling to the wayside when you get “too busy” during Q4? Do you struggle to find time to write newsletters to your buyers or to research trickier items? Do you find yourself creating a big pile of paperwork that you just don’t have time to file or process? It might even be your personal holiday shopping that seems to get crunched into less and less time each year.

What can you do during the summer to take things off your Q4 checklist? There’s no reason you can't pre-write your Q4 newsletters in July or get all that seasonal merchandise prepped and photographed now ready to be listed and launched at the perfect time later in the year.

TIP #5 – JOIN CAMP CLUTTER B GONE

Summer is about fun – and even us working adults need some time to play while still being productive. Camp Clutter B Gone is all about both!

Camp starts on July 1st when the Camp Bus picks you up (virtually, of course!) and continues the entire month of July. Each day you receive an email that focuses on one area of your online business and challenges you to complete a small organizational mission. Those missions are themed around traditional Summer Camp activities like arts & crafts, sports, exploring, nature and, of course, campfires.

There’s also a private Facebook group where you can share and engage with your fellow campers. You’ll have fun, make new friends and get your business ready for the holiday selling season.

Questions about Camp Clutter B Gone or just want to talk about the Summer Slow Down? Join the Declutter With Diva Dawn Facebook Group. It’s a nice big community of ecommerce sellers just waiting to offer advice, answer questions, and share ideas and encouragement. After all … sometimes it’s just more fun to organize someone else’s stuff than our own!

It's Sale-ing Season!

MAY 2016

Spring has sprung! And it’s not only flowers that are popping up all over – garage sales are around every corner every weekend now.

Me, I love a good garage sale. And I’ve loved them all my life – long before I started selling on eBay.

Sale-ing on Saturday mornings is something my mom and I do most weekends. And while I’m hunting for treasures to resell, mom is looking for the perfect pink blouse, a new purse and yet another pair of comfy black flats.

Saturday garage sale-ing starts with planning on Friday. I check the local newspaper for garage sale postings and then do the same on CraigsList. Then I start mapping those locations in either Google Maps or Mapquest. I prioritize the sales using the information in the ad about what types of merchandise they have and starting time.

When Saturday morning rolls around I grab my trusty GPS, pick up mom and we start on my pre-planned route. That doesn’t mean that my car doesn’t automatically swerve when we spot a roadside sale or a nice big enticing garage sale sign pointing into a subdivision not on our route. Some of the best yard sales I’ve been to have been unexpected finds at the end of a long series of signs and arrows through winding subdivisions.

I can scope out a yard sale pretty quickly. My first step is to quickly walk by all the merchandise and skim it for those bread and butter items that I’m always looking to source: dinnerware, flatware, collectibles, Christmas décor, craft stuff, etc.

My first stop is whatever I determine is the most lucrative. Here is where I begin to engage with the seller, being friendly and complimentary (what a lovely dish set – I’m sure my daughter would love it – are you firm on the price?). After I’ve looked through all the goodies on the tables, I check under the tables. I’ve found some great things tucked underneath tables.

Once I’ve made my purchases it’s time to pack them up. Sadly, most sellers aren’t prepared to pack up fragile items with newspaper, and often don’t have boxes or even bags available. Luckily, my vehicle is always stocked with a rolling tote for heavy items, boxes, bags and old towels for cushioning.

When we’re back in the car and on our way to the next sale, mom records my purchases in a small notebook, noting the price paid so that I can document my inventory costs when I get back home. And the process repeats and repeats from sale to sale until we’re ready to call it a day and find a place to have lunch.

Once home, the biggest challenge is ahead of me: getting all my newly acquired inventory processed, prepped and listed. Those are the most essential steps – because the last thing I need is to be adding to a pile of unlisted inventory that sits around taunting me and not converting to sales.

Do you plan your garage sale route? What essentials do you take with you when you go sale-ing? How do you scope out the best bargains at a sale? Do you struggle to get everything processed and listed before heading out sale-ing the next weekend?

We’re all familiar with the phenomenon: we have plans, a schedule, stuff to do and then Whammo! life happens and we need to fling everything out the window and deal with other stuff.

That’s kinda what the month of March has looked like so far for me. It started off with our return from our two week cruise to Hawaii. I spent all of March 1st just dealing with the mail that had accumulated during our trip and fulfilling all my eBay sales shipments. It was a good and productive day.

Then the month fell apart! It seems like it’s just been one thing after another: a sick friend, hubby getting banged up when he was accidentally run over by a golfcart, my mom’s sudden dental issues, car trouble that led to costly repairs, unplanned “must do now” errands, an impromptu trip out of town to support some friends who were facing an unexpected loss, our very sick and ailing dog (and the aftermath of his night of vomiting and diarrhea) and a whole host of other small and time consuming family issues.

I am coping about as well as can be expected given that my desk is piled high and I am not getting many eBay listings up and my sales are correspondingly slowing.

But here’s the thing – I AM coping. I am not getting as much done as I usually do and that is frustrating.

But I am acknowledging that this is just not happening right now and I am paring down my To Do List to the essentials: the routine daily things that I must do like shipping and bill paying and answering emails, plus one – and only one – other thing to do. One day it might be listing. Another day it might be writing some Facebook posts for the Declutter with Diva Dawn Facebook Group. Yesterday’s task was completing my February business bookkeeping. And today’s task is getting this newsletter written and out to you.

Life happens.

That doesn’t mean that my business comes to a standstill, but rather that it takes a backseat in importance. I still have shipping and listing to do, but I am not expecting myself to work as many focused hours on my business right now.

I’m sure you’ve experienced the “life happens” phenomenon too. How did you cope? What strategies worked for you to keep you on track until you came out on the other side?

You keep hearing that you should “know your numbers”. But why? And exactly WHAT numbers do you need to know?

Right now everyone is busy frantically pulling their tax stuff together and many online sellers are discovering – much to their shock and dismay -- that they made very little money last year. YIKES! You worked hard. You spent lots of time buying, listing and shipping. And yet your bottom line isn’t so pretty.

Or are you at the opposite end? You spent so much time doing the tasks in your business that you made TONS of money – and now you’re going to owe Uncle Sam a big chunk of change.

Monitoring your numbers and doing your bookkeeping tasks regularly throughout the year can minimize both of these surprises. I know bookkeeping isn’t everyone’s favorite activity, but tracking incoming and outgoing money should be high on every seller’s mind.

That doesn’t mean that you need to know exactly how much you made on each and every transaction, but you should know how you did overall each month. In accounting terms, an Income Statement tells this tale. An Income Statement is also known as a P&L or a Profit and Loss Statement. Simply put, it is the total of all the money you had come in that month less all the money you spent during the month.

If you use GoDaddy Bookkeeping, you can run a Profit and Loss Statement by clicking on “Reports” and then selecting that option. If you use QuickBooks, you can create your Profit and Loss Statement using their Reports feature.

If you’re a paper and pencil bookkeeper, you can do a very simple P&L by making a list of all your income for the month: income from sales from each platform you sell on, shipping money you were paid, sales tax collected, etc. Total all those numbers and you’ve got your Gross Income.

Next make a list of all your expenses. Be sure to include shipping costs, the cost of supplies, refunds you gave, fees you paid eBay, PayPal, Amazon and your other platforms, rent, mileage, phone and internet, the cost of the items that you sold that month, and any other expenses you paid during the month. Total all those numbers to get your Total Expenses.

Now subtract your Total Expenses from your Gross Income. If you had more money come in than go out, you made a profit. And if you spent more than you earned, then you operated at a loss.

Of course, there are other numbers in your business, like assets, inventory and debts. These are important numbers, too. But the ones that you absolutely must track each month or each quarter are the Income and Expense numbers.

By compiling these numbers each month you can compare data from year to year, discover if your expenses are getting out of hand or if sales are on an upswing and if so, by how much. And tax time won’t reveal an unwelcome surprise in the form of an unexpected loss or an unexpectedly high tax bill.

Is tracking your money making you crazy? Let’s talk about it over on theDeclutter With Diva Dawn Facebook Group.I sell online to make money – and I want to help you know if you’re making money too.

Ditch Those Resolutions!

JANUARY 2016

We’re halfway through January and yesterday was officially “Ditch Your New Year’s Resolution Day”. Statistically, more than 90% of those that made a New Year’s resolution have abandoned it already. And another 3% will stop working toward their resolutions by the end of the month.

And yet who doesn’t dream of starting over in the New Year and creating something new, better or life-changing?

It’s a trap we all fall into -- we start the New Year full of hope and by mid-January most of us have “failed” and shoved those goals and resolutions under the rug.

But I’m here to tell you that you shouldn’t give up just yet – especially if your resolution was to “get organized” in 2016.

Let’s start over today and take a new approach to that “get organized” resolution.

1. Start with a new resolution. You may want to “get organized”, but just thinking about all that you have to organize is overwhelming and you’re setting yourself up for failure with such a broad statement.

Pick a finite space or project to get organized. Maybe it’s your shipping area or your desk, your inventory or your bookkeeping. Not everything. Just one thing that will make a difference in your business life.

2. Now set a realistic deadline for accomplishing that project. And then add half as much time again to your “due date”. Think it will take a month to put together an awesome shipping space? Then give yourself 6 weeks to get it done, because life happens and things always take longer than we expect.

3. Break down the steps. What needs to be done to accomplish the goal? If you’re creating a shipping station you’ll need to clear a space, purchase or find a table, gather your supplies in one place, decide how you’re going to store things, etc. Brainstorm all the steps and write them down. Now put them in the order you’ll need to do them.

Now you have a plan. You don’t need to crash and burn and do everything at once. One step at a time. One step a day … or even 5 out of 7 days (everyone needs a “cheat” day or a day off now and then). And every day you’ll be successfully working toward your new resolution and realizing your dream.

Once you finish your organizing project you can pat yourself on the back, throw those shoulders back with pride and hold your head up tall! And with this big success in your pocket you are ready to the start the process all over again. Set a new goal, a new due date and new set of steps to accomplishing that goal.

Be one of the 5% that actually keeps, accomplishes and thrives by making manageable, meaningful and masterful resolutions.

Share your “new" resolution over in the Declutter With Diva Dawn Facebook Group. We’ll help keep you on track, act as a sounding board if you find yourself backsliding or having difficulties, and we’ll cheer you on and celebrate your accomplishments. I can't wait to see all that you organize this year!

Are You on the Naughty or Nice List?

DECEMBER 2015

We’re deep into Q4 now and it doesn’t feel like we have time for much else on our plate. But it IS important to take stock of just how Q4 – and the rest of 2015 – looks.

Are your sales where you wanted them to be? Have you sourced enough inventory – or too much? Are you overwhelmed by trying to do it all yourself? Are you moving through December at a frantic pace or are you able to enjoy all the magic of the season?

Sometimes we get so caught up in our day-to-day activity that we forget to celebrate our successes, look for ways to streamline our processes and seek inspiration in the wonder of the holiday season.

What puts you on the online seller Naughty List or Nice List? Have you –

Left heartfelt feedback for your buyers

Loaded up your store with enticing merchandise

Shipped packages quickly

Set your policies with your buyers’ best experience in mind

Taken fabulous photographs for your listings

Fully described any flaws in your listing

Welcomed new subscribers to your email list

Listed your inventory at a fair price

Accepted reasonable Best Offers

Had the right shipping supplies available to safely package shipments

Hired help to keep up with increasing sourcing, sales and shipping

Listed as much as you’ve sourced

Winnowed down your stockpile of unlisted inventory

Kept in touch with your newsletter subscribers

Valued each and every buyer who came to your store

Been “social” on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest

Participated in Facebook sourcing and selling groups

Thought the best of buyers and not that they are out to scam or low-ball you

Kept up with your recordkeeping and tax reporting

Sought out new and improved ways to do things in your business

Kept your inventory organized and accessible

Thanked your customers, suppliers, employees and mentors

Can you answer “Yes” to most of this list? Then you’re definitely on the Nice List this year. But where can you improve next year and move up to the very pinnacle of that list?

Where are you falling short and leaning toward that Naughty List? And how can you fix that in 2016? What else puts you on Santa's Nice List?

As we approach the end of the calendar year it’s time to look back and see what disorganization is costing your business. While you are busy listing and shipping in Q4, start thinking about these things and where you can invest your energy in 2016 to improve your profitability and lower your stress.

1. Where does your business bog down?

Maybe you have too much unlisted inventory and need to get it sold to create more cash flow and more space for your business. Maybe you’re slow keeping up with your bookkeeping and then the first of the year hits and you spend an entire stressful month getting it caught up.

Close your eyes and visualize how things would look if they were different. Does that vision make you smile? Now think about what concrete, specific steps you can take in 2016 to bring your business closer to that vision. It gets even harder to finish tasks when they are ones that we don’t like to do or that are difficult for us. Filing paperwork is just one such example. Bookkeeping is another. Do you put off keeping up with your bookkeeping until it is time to file your tax return and then scramble to find your receipts and tally up income and expenses?

It’s all about urgency. Tasks that we perceive as urgent get done. Tasks with less urgency may never happen until faced with a deadline (think taxes).

2. What victories did you have this year?

Don’t forget to celebrate those successes. Every step forward to getting your business more streamlined and organized is a step toward profitability. Why did you have those successes? What were the benefits?

Now take those lessons learned and see where else you can apply the same principles in the coming year. Maybe you kept your desk cleared and functional this year. How did you do that? Maybe in 2016 you can apply those same skills to keeping your shipping area ship-shape in the year ahead.

3. Were there big hills and valleys in your business this year?

There is always a rhythm to our business lives. Peaks and valleys can be normal and anticipated based on seasons and our inventory types. But what happens when you have a valley where there should have been a peak? Was the dip caused by something you did or did not do? Our energy levels, health and hustle all influence the success of our business. When things are slow do you keep going or do you slow down too?

Look at what you were doing in your business during those valleys. Did you keep working steadily and moving toward your goals? Did you use those slow times to reorganize, revamp and revitalize your business or did you give yourself permission to slack off and coast during that time?

4. What do you need to let go?

Holding on to a niche that isn’t as profitable as it once was can rob your business of much needed cash flow. Stubbornly clinging to practices that are now outdated just because you don’t want to do somethinghttp://www.declutterwithdivadawn.com/ differently, while comfortable, can leave you out of touch and trailing your competitors.

Maybe it’s old inventory that just needs to be clearanced from your store. Maybe you don’t take the best photos – is it time to hire someone else to do that task in your business or time to revamp your photo studio and processes? What are you holding on to too tightly that would benefit from someone else’s input?

5. What are your biggest opportunities?

Where can you realistically take your business in 2016? Maybe shipping would be easier if you implemented a new inventory system. Maybe your bottom line would be rich with cash if you limited purchasing and worked on older unlisted inventory. Would hiring a VA or a very part time person help you divest yourself of things you don’t enjoy doing? What opportunities have you been putting on the back burner? Take all those “if only” statements and make one or more of them a reality in the year ahead.

Benchmarks are the yardsticks by which we measure our businesses. Think of them as real-life benches where you pause to rest and reflect – and make plans to adjust your business practices.

Do you get overwhelmed with all that you have to do and all that is sitting half done in your business and home? Do you feel like you work on project after project and yet never finish any of them?

Fully completing tasks may seem like an impossible dream, but doing so is key to having a healthy, functioning and uncluttered business. You wouldn’t take the time to package up your outgoing shipments with care, print labels and then never take them to the Post Office would you?

Look at all the tasks you do in your business each day. Do you fully complete them? Chances are that you do them only as far as absolutely necessary and then leave them hanging for that last step or two that will finish them off.

With the shipping example above, what needs to be done after you deliver your packages to your carrier? Is there paperwork that needs to be completed, emails that need to be sent, tracking that needs to be uploaded or shipping supplies that need to be reordered?

When you finish your daily listing, what happens to that item? Does it get placed on a table, in a box or tub, on your desk or somewhere else where it adds to the disarray around you? The final part of your listing process needs to be storing that item where you can later retrieve it when it sells. AND recording that location in some manner so you can find it in your inventory.

It gets even harder to finish tasks when they are ones that we don’t like to do or that are difficult for us. Filing paperwork is just one such example. Bookkeeping is another. Do you put off keeping up with your bookkeeping until it is time to file your tax return and then scramble to find your receipts and tally up income and expenses?

It’s all about urgency. Tasks that we perceive as urgent get done. Tasks with less urgency may never happen until faced with a deadline (think taxes).

Think about a runner competing in a race. He jumps out of the starting block and sprints around the track, kicking into high gear on the backstretch. He rounds the last corner going strong. He can see the finish line ahead and no one is near him. But he is getting tired and a little cocky with his lead. So just before the finish line he stops to catch his breath and thinks, “I’ll take those last 2 steps in a second”. And while he pauses the other runners finish the race and score the medals. “But I was the fastest”, he says, “I was there first”. But he didn’t finish. He didn’t take those last 2 important steps that would have given him a victory.

Don’t stop short of the finish line! File those papers. Store your inventory for easy retrieval. Keep up with your bookkeeping. Reorder shipping supplies before you run out of them. Completing those last steps tidies everything up and brings closure to the task and leaves you ready to successfully tackle the next item on your To Do List.

You learned everything you need to know about organizing before you even went to kindergarten.

What? … you’re saying. If I learned it all waaaaay back then that explains why I’ve forgotten it now!

Organizing is about three simple things that you DID learn waaaaaay back then … Didn’t you learn:

1. Brush your teeth.

Some things just need to be done every day, like brushing your teeth. There’s a set routine: grab toothbrush from holder, squeeze on some toothpaste, brush teeth, rinse mouth, put toothbrush back in holder – DONE!

Routines like brushing your teeth are important rituals that follow you all through your life.

And routines are what propel your business along day after day. For online entrepreneurs daily routines include shipping, listing, photography and sourcing. Monthly routines might include things like purging inventory, sending newsletters and keeping up with the dreaded bookkeeping.

2. Put Your Toys Away.

Mom and dad hated all that “toy clutter”, but a kid needs stuff to play with and explore and to spur imagination. They might have tolerated the mess all day long, but before you went to bed it was time to tidy up.

Keeping your business organized and efficient can be as simple as working on that organization a little every day.

Organizing your space by returning things to where they belong, storing like things with like things, and labeling bins, totes, boxes, shelves and even supplies will clear all that distracting clutter away every single day. You’ll start the next day with clear surfaces and an uncluttered mind.

3. Play Well With Others.

Sharing your toys was hard, especially if it was one of your favorites. But you learned that there were so many more things that you could do if you had a companion. There were games to play and races to run and ideas to share.

Online entrepreneurs are an unusual breed. While we don’t always share our sourcing secrets, we do share ideas and inspiration. Whether you get your inspiration from an eBay Radio podcast, an in-person Meet-Up, a Facebook Group or just talking with friends, your fellow entrepreneurs have great ideas – and one might just be the perfect idea for you!

Having trouble getting something organized? Ask questions. Share your challenges. Ask for ideas. And then try out some of the suggestions, tailoring them to your unique space, time and financial situation.

Looking for a place to ask those questions? Join the Declutter With Diva Dawn Facebook Group. It’s a nice big community of ecommerce sellers just waiting to offer advice, ideas and encouragement. After all … sometimes it’s just more fun to organize someone else’s stuff than our own!

Organized Enough

AUGUST 2015

Are you perfectly organized? Not me!

I’m an organized person. I like systems and processes. I like orderliness. I like getting stuff done. But I’m not a neat-nik. Nor is everything in my life streamlined and perfect. I’m definitely a work in progress.

But I am “organized enough”.I can easily find something when it sells. My shipping doesn’t take a lot of time because everything I need is close at hand. At tax time I’m not scrambling to find a year’s worth of receipts and record a year’s worth of sales. And I have a listing process that streamlines the work and makes it easier for me to get lots of new inventory listed.Do you stress about the disorganization in your business? If you try to fix everything at once you are going to be even more overwhelmed. Pick one area of your business where you experience bottlenecks every day and work on making that area function better.Got an area of your business in mind to get ship-shape? Now …

Close your eyes. Breathe. Relax.

Envision how it would look and function if it were absolutely perfect. Don’t worry about space or money or anything else. Just envision it as perfect.

Open your eyes and look at your reality. What is different?

How can you get as close to your ideal within the space, money and other constraints that are a part of your world?

Now write down all the steps you need to take to get as close to your ideal as possible and put them in a sequential order that makes sense to do them.

Then do that very first step today.

And take the next step the next day.

And so on and so.

Unless you have unlimited space and money and resources you will come up short of your “absolutely perfect” ideal. But you can get “organized enough”. Organized enough to be efficient. Organized enough to get things done. Organized enough to find what you are looking for quickly and without panic. Organized enough to file your tax return timely and without having to devote several days or weeks exclusively to getting it done.Embrace “organized enough”. Because perfect just never happens in the real world and especially in the world of an online seller.

What areas of your business are already “organized enough”? What bottlenecks can you envision breaking through just getting them “organized enough” instead of perfectly organized? Let’s talk about it over on theDeclutter With Diva Dawn Facebook Group.

Start Small

JULY 2015

Getting organized can feel really overwhelming. We look at a big pile of papers to be filed and sorted and just know it’s going to take forever. We see a garage full of inventory waiting to be listed and know that listing a box or even a dozen boxes isn’t going to make it suddenly tidy and able to accommodate a vehicle.

And so we don’t get started filing or listing. We feel beaten down and exhausted just thinking about dealing with it all. We turn our backs, close our eyes and shut the door. And nothing improves and often the problem just worsens.And pretty soon we’re living a little easier with the guilt and clutter and overwhelm. But it weighs us down a little more every single day.So what can you do?

I’m here to tell you that the answer to that question isn’t to hire a junk-hauling truck or to throw everything away or even to devote a week or a month to nothing but filing and decluttering.

So what CAN you do?

Something. Anything. One step at a time. One step today. Another step tomorrow. And another the day after that.A big stack of papers to sort and file? Deal with one inch worth of papers today – act on them, shred them, toss them in the garbage, file them. Then work on another inch tomorrow. And so on. After a week you will have dealt with SEVEN INCHES of paperwork and your pile will be noticeably smaller. That’s all you have to do – one single inch stack of papers each day. Easy peasy. You CAN do it!Start small dealing with whatever is holding you hostage to progress. If it’s unlisted inventory – sort one bag or box from your stash today and cull whatever isn’t worth your time to list. Tomorrow photo and get those things listed that will bring you a great profit. The next day you grab another box and repeat the process.

Start small and keep starting over every single day. Put blinders on and don’t see “all” that you have ahead of you to do, but just see today’s task and do it to completion. And celebrate your success each and every day. You CAN do it. Start small and watch your small daily successes grow into BIG organized accomplishments!I'd love to hear from you over on the Declutter With Diva Dawn Facebook Group. What can you start accomplishing with small steps?

Will You Sizzle or Fizzle This Summer?

JUNE 2015

The weather has warmed up, school is out and vacations are on our mind. For most online sellers, the slow selling season is upon us and we are caught between the desire to “play hookey” a bit and to dig in and get some things done in our business that we just don’t have time to do the rest of the year.What will you be doing this summer?Will you be searching for new inventory? Purging slow sellers? Getting your ecommerce stores filled with fabulous inventory ready for those holiday buyers? Getting caught up on bookwork? Reorganizing inventory? Training employees and VAs ready for your busy season?

Do you have the best of intentions to get a bunch of organizing tasks done this summer but are afraid it will be like every other year and you’ll run out of summer before you get much accomplished?

Let’s change that!I’ll be hosting Camp Clutter B Gone throughout the month of July this year. Just click on the Camp Clutter B Gone image below to sign up --

It’s FREE!Each day you will receive an email that focuses on one area of your online business and challenges you to complete a small organizational mission themed around traditional Summer Camp activities.Let’s make this a fun, productive and exciting July for our businesses.

We headed out for a week-long Alaska cruise at the beginning of May. It was hectic getting ready to leave town, but once we were on our way I relaxed and found my vacation mojo. And that was really important because I was going to be cut off from the internet and cell service for most of the next week and I needed to remember how to live in the moment and disconnect myself from all those electronics that are so much a part of my daily life.

What I also saw again and again during that week was how big a role organization and systems play on board a cruise ship.It all started with our luggage. When we called our shuttle driver as we were deplaning he was shocked to learn that there were 4 adults to pick up and that we each only had one carry-on suitcase and would be bypassing baggage claim. But we had packed smart. We brought mix and match clothing, easy to care for clothes, lightweight shirts and warm bulky sweaters and fleece pullovers. I wore tennis shoes and packed a pair of black dress shoes that I could wear with anything. And there was still room to pack the souvenirs that we acquired for the return trip home.RULE #1 – You don’t need a lot of things – but you do need the right things.

Once onboard and in our room, the first thing we did was unpack. Everything was hung up or given an assigned drawer or cupboard space. We weren’t traveling in a big suite – far from it – and even one thing out of place made the room chaotic and messy. We hung a laundry bag on the back of the door, arranged our toiletries in the bathroom and stowed our suitcases in the closet out of the way. RULE #2 – Everything needs a home and belongs there when not in use.Next we checked the daily newsletter that we found in our cabin to see what was happening that day. That’s one thing I really love about cruising – so much to do no matter what you are interested in doing. Everything from dining options to classes to entertainment, shopping, relaxing, working out, trivia contests, dancing … and so on and so on was spelled out in the newsletter. Each event had specific times and places when and where they would be happening. Cruise ship activities run like clockwork and every venue on board ship is used multiple times a day for different and varying activities. RULE #3 – Schedule your time and resources – then show up, do the work and move on to the next thing.Even with all the activities and events on board, one of the best things about cruising is being cut-off from the world on sea days. We spent plenty of time sitting in deck chairs enjoying the sunshine and watching the waves. Doesn’t sound “productive”? Not everything has to be! And yet it still was. I spent plenty of time with my thoughts and did some planning and dreaming about my life and my business. Sometimes I get so busy doing all the “work” that I forget to slow down and listen to my own thoughts. I can be brilliant – if I do say so myself! RULE #4 – Take time to relax, rejuvenate and dream big dreams – life is about more than just putting one foot in front of the other day after day.

Visiting the port cities in Alaska was loads of fun. Each had a different flavor and ambiance. Sometimes we just wandered around town … sometimes we were a bit more adventurous. The excursions offered were varied and everyone could find something that called to them: whale watching, kayaking, dog sledding, zip-lining, lumberjack shows, bus trips, tours, fishing and so much more. Two of the best hours we spent in Juneau were whiled away at the Red Dog Saloon where the waitresses were dressed in period attire, the piano player regaled us with songs, jokes and friendly commentary, the food and drink was reasonably priced, and the atmosphere was friendly and inviting. We were even encouraged to sign our names on the timbered walls. RULE #5 – You never know what you will discover until you step out of your comfort zone and embrace the unknown.And suddenly it was time to disembark and head home. Amazingly, it took only 2 hours to completely clear the ship of its 3,000+ passengers and all the luggage. Everyone was assigned a disembarkation time and location depending on their needs. There was no mass crush of people trying to leave at the same time. One disembarkation location, according to a set schedule, was released at a time. There was no pushing and shoving, no crowding, no overloading of baggage handlers or customs personnel. Everyone got where they needed to be in plenty of time. RULE #6 – Plan the work, then work the plan.I missed all my online friends while we were traveling, but I wouldn’t trade that time away for anything. It is important to step away from routine and your everyday world once in a while, whether it is a week-long cruise to Alaska, an afternoon at the zoo or a day visiting a museum in a neighboring city. RULE #7 – Your business is not your life – your business is what makes your lifestyle possible.

﻿﻿﻿Freshen Up Your Online Store for Spring﻿﻿﻿

﻿APRIL 2015

Spring cleaning isn’t just for our closets and homes. It’s also a great time to freshen up our online stores. Here are 6 ways you can bring new life to your eBay store.

1. Lighten and brighten up your store theme. If you still have the old store format, try adding a promo box highlighting colorful spring-themed inventory. When the sun comes out after a long winter, I’m thinking about baseball and flowers and fishing and new summer clothes – and your buyers will be too. Bring attention to inventory that is perfectly suited to springtime.

And if you have the new store format, now is a great time to create a new store header with a fabulous spring/summer theme. Let your buyers know that you have relevant inventory for this time of year by selecting appropriate items to feature at the top of your store listings.

2. Update your oldest listings. Chances are they’ve been listed for some time and could use a little freshening up. Add a new photo or two to the listing, tweak those title keywords and re-research pricing. If it hasn’t sold yet, your price may not be in line with the current market.

3. Run a sale with Markdown Manager. Do you have a lot of winter coats or sweaters that haven’t sold yet? Maybe you didn’t move as much Christmas inventory as you expected. Now is the perfect time to run a sale and give your buyers a chance to buy off-season. You don’t need to set your markdowns at fire sale prices – a fair 10 to 25% off will help spike some sales on your out-of-season merchandise. And don’t run the sale for too long – create a sense of urgency by limiting the sale to 7 days or less.

4. Tweak your store categories. Is it time to add some subcategories to your biggest main categories to make shopping with you easier for your buyers? This may seem like a big and daunting task, but if you break it down and spend just 15 or 20 minutes a day working on your store categories, you’ll be done in no time, even if you have hundreds of listings. Print out a list of your store categories and start at the top of the list and work your way down, crossing them off as you complete them.

5. Check out your store settings from the Manage My Store link in Selling Manager or Selling Manager Pro. Sometimes coding changes that eBay makes can reset your settings back to the default. You might even find some settings that you didn’t know you could change, like reducing the eBay header if you have a Premium or Anchor Store subscription so that your store gets extra real estate on the page.

6. Browse all the different tools that eBay offers. Are you taking advantage of all those that make sense for your business? If you’re not already selling internationally, could you benefit from the Global Shipping Program? Is your return policy still relevant or should you extend the time you give buyers to make a return? Have you opted into Managed Returns? Buyers and sellers both really like this streamlined return process. Is your current store subscription still the right one for you? Maybe it’s time to move up to the next store subscription level … or to lower your subscription if you are having a difficult time getting listings up and taking full advantage of all that your current subscription level offers. A little time spent investigating these and other options for your store could end up opening your inventory to new markets and bring new buyers to your store.

I don’t know about you, but the thought of spring cleaning my online store is a LOT more appealing than cleaning out my kitchen cupboards or my closet. And a LOT less work. ;-)

Tradition says that March "comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb".In my eBay life that usually means that March is super busy at the beginning of the month and then calms down a bit near the end. Part of that may be due to the frenzy of getting tax returns prepared before the April 15th deadline. It may be due in part to it still feeling like winter at the beginning of the month and then spring fever setting in as April approaches.Don't you just want to throw open your doors and windows and let the sunshine and warm breezes begin to waft through your home? Even if where you live is still freezing cold with winter remnants lurking everywhere, I'll bet you can't wait for those spring breezes too. We want to shake off those heavy winter coats and sets ourselves free in lightweight clothes with flip flops on our feet and start dreaming about places to go, garage sales to visit and grilling on the barbecue.And with spring fever comes spring cleaning. It's the perfect time to take a good look at the inventory lurking in your online store and decide to move out those "dogs". Whether that means creating bundles, repricing inventory or creating sales, holding a garage sale of your own or just donating them to a local charity or thrift store -- it's time to set yourself free from the heaviness of this inventory that is weighing you down.What else could you spring clean this year? Maybe it's time to refresh your store logo or have one created just for you. Whether you hire someone on eBay, Etsy or Fiverr or try your hand at creating your own using PicMonkey or Canva or another do-it-yourself service, freshening up your public image always feels good.One of my favorite places to spring clean my business each year is to look at my shipping area. What boxes have I been using a lot? Do I need more packing materials? Has it gotten a bit messy from all that crazy holiday shipping? As I ship from my eBay garage, now is the perfect time to do this maintenance before it is summertime hot in there.As we shed the heavy "lion" in March and become the more lightweight and gamboling "lamb" as the month draws to a close, think about the ways you can spring clean your entrepreneurial life and give yourself a shiny new outlook, purpose and surroundings. Maybe you'll completely revamp your inventory mix ... or just rearrange the furniture in your office so you can look out the window at the spring flowers. Do whatever it takes to shake off those winter doldrums in your business and make it a lean, mean, money-making machine!I'd love to hear from you over on the ﻿Declutter With Diva Dawn Facebook Group﻿. Let's talk about what you're spring cleaning this year.

﻿﻿It's the Mont﻿﻿h of Love ... and Tax Preparation

FEBRUARY 2015

It’s February – the Month of Love.

And not so much love … as we begin the arduous task of preparing our business accounting records ready to file our income tax returns.

I’m a big proponent of keeping up with your bookkeeping tasks on a regular basis. I like to have monthly numbers so that I can compare them year-to-year and spot trends and make plans. At the very least you should put your numbers together quarterly to stay on top of the task and on top of the financial health of your business.

I know that doing the boring accounting stuff is not something that most sellers look forward to. But tackling your numbers only at year end can lead to big surprises – you might owe more in tax than you anticipated; your business might not be as profitable as you thought; you may have spent too much on inventory or other supplies; or you might need to retool your business model. And waiting a whole year to discover these things will not only throw you for a financial loop, they can make you slower to respond to market trends and make you less nimble in the marketplace.

So … you didn’t stay on top of your numbers last year. What can you do now? Well, for starters, you can get busy pulling all those numbers together NOW. Whether you’re ready to tackle them by yourself or want the step-by-step guidance that myTax Time Rescue webinar serieswill give you – get working on them NOW. The sooner you know where you stood financially for last year, the sooner you can start analyzing the financial health of your business and start making any necessary adjustments.Once you have all your numbers together for last year, you can answer all sorts of questions about your business:

Did your sales grow last year? What did you do to encourage that growth?

Did you have too much inventory … or too little?

What were your strongest months? And your slowest?

Do you need to increase your prices or raise your ASP?

How much are you spending on shipping supplies?

Did attending that event help you increase your sales or give you any profit-boosting insights?

Is it time to expand?

Do you need to hire an employee or VA?

What should you change, enhance or eliminate in the next 12 months?

So whether you love numbers or hate dealing with them, the time is now to see what they have to tell you about last year and what lies ahead this year. Don’t stick your head in the sand when it comes to dealing with your business bookkeeping. Your business’ financial health depends on what you can learn from those numbers!I'd love to hear from you over on the Declutter With Diva Dawn Facebook Group. Let's talk about what your numbers are telling you.

I'm Not ﻿﻿Making﻿﻿ Any New Year's Resolutions

JANUARY 2015﻿

Those crazy holiday sales are pretty much behind us and as we pause and celebrate with family and friends, we are looking ahead to our buyers spending their holiday cash on things that they want for themselves. Our online selling lives won’t be slowing down a lot in the near future.

But January 1st is rapidly approaching and that fresh new year is a blank slate for our dreams, resolutions, hopes and goals.

Are you making any resolutions this year? I’m not. Not because there aren’t things that I need to do or improve. But I just never follow through on big resolutions. My resolution to exercise more often never keeps pace with my intentions. My resolutions to eat better falls by the wayside when offered a meal out or a juicy steak. I just don’t have success keeping big resolutions. But I DO have a proven track record of making monthly goals and keeping those, so that is what I will be doing.

Another big resolution that people make at New Year’s is to get organized. How many times have you vowed to do just that? And how many times have you been satisfied with the results and/or your effort?

Getting organized is a HUGE goal. And not one that you can attack lightly or faint heartedly. Let’s say that your “get organized” goal this year is to get your desk organized. Does that mean that you dive in on January 1st and create chaos until you give up or get it all tidy and then do nothing to maintain it? Probably not!

But you can make a plan that makes sense. Don’t burn out on your goal in the first month, or toss your resolution aside just because you didn’t get it all done in January. Start with a plan that covers your resolution for the whole year. And start simple to start forming habits.

Your habit plan might look something like this:January – open mail every day and act on each piece of incoming mail within 24 hours. This will prevent paperwork from accumulating on your desk. Simple. Achievable.

February – continue January’s habit. AND Spend 15 or 20 minutes each day clearing off the top of your desk by sorting paperwork, acting on anything that needs action, creating a “to be filed” folder or basket for those items that need to be filed away and trashing anything that you don’t need to keep. Once the desk is clear, nothing new goes onto the desk except when in it is being used.March – continue your new habits from January and February. AND Tackle one desk drawer each week. Empty it out and put only those things that you need nearby back into the drawer. Designate a place for each thing and keep it there are all times except when in use.By now your desk is probably looking pretty spiffy. It’s tidy. There’s room to work on your desk. You are able to find things in your drawers because you have gotten rid of those non-essentials and you can find what you need to use.And you’ve built habits each month that you’re continuing to maintain. Bravo!So, what would your next step be in April? And for each month for the rest of the year?Wouldn’t it be great to make a resolution on January 1st that you actually kept all year long? Just think how exciting that would feel. How functional it would be to have an organized desk. And how proud you could be of your success. And next year you will feel even more empowered to tackle the next “get organized” area of your business and life in the same way.I’m not making any resolutions this year – I’m making a plan to create some awesome new habits, a month at a time. How about you? What new habits do you plan to create?

I won't take a lot of your time this month. I know it's the middle of Q4 and we're all busy listing and fulfilling orders and restocking our inventory nonstop.But you do have to stop. Just for a minute (or maybe 15).Stop and look around at your work environment. Is your desk out of control and you find yourself searching for things in the stack of papers littering the desk? Do you think: "I don't have time to take care of those right now. I'll do that later"? But later never comes and the stack of papers grows. When you finish reading this newsletter, set your kitchen timer or a timer on your smartphone for 15 minutes and just tidy them up, open those envelopes and make 2 stacks: Okay To Do Later and Need To Act. At least then when you need to find something you'll have a better idea where to look for it and you can see what isn't pressing to do and what needs to be done soon so nothing falls through the cracks.Maybe tomorrow you'll take 15 minutes and look at your shipping area. Is it getting a little muddled and cluttered because you're so busy shipping that you haven't returned the pens to their holder, the tape dispenser to its rightful place and your boxes are all over the place because, gosh darn, you're busy preparing shipments and don't have time to put things neatly away. I would wager that it will take only a few minutes to put things back where they should be, get those boxes in order and restock your bubble mailers or other supplies that are running low.Just 15 minutes. A couple times this week. A few minutes putting things in order will put your whole Q4 overwhelmed attitude back in perspective. Shipping will be easier because everything will be right where you need it. Your desk won't feel like a giant inbox because you'll know what is there and what needs your attention.And don't forget to take 15 minutes -- or even longer -- to pamper yourself a bit, too. You need to refresh and reinvigorate during this uber-busy time of year. What fun is it to make sales and send shipments if you're too swamped or tired to enjoy the holiday fun and festivities?Yes, Q4 is all about the Ka-Ching. But it's also all about hearth, home and family. Restoring balance and order, even if it's only 15 minutes at a time, will let you catch your breath and ease the pressure those Ka-Chings also bring.I'd love to hear from you over on the Declutter With Diva Dawn Facebook Group. Let's talk about what you can do in 15 minutes this week.

Cruising Through My To Do ListOCTOBER 2014

At the end of September my hubby and I were lucky enough to take a one week cruise up and back down the California coast. The only drawback -- I was totally without internet except when we were on land. That meant that I had to put my eBay store on vacation and hide all my listings. It meant I wouldn't be spending time on Facebook for a week. And it meant that I needed to clear the decks at home and for my business before I became disconnected for a week.

It's amazing how much I was able to accomplish with such a carved-in-stone deadline! The cruise ship wasn't going to wait for me to get one more thing shipped or listed or sourced.

And I had to be really smart about what things I was going to get done ﻿before I left town. I HAD to have all my shipments done. I HAD to pack (which meant I HAD to do laundry). I HAD to leave instructions about caring for the dog with our dogsitter. I HAD to make sure all my bills would be paid on time. I HAD to get to the bank and get cash for the trip. And I HAD to prepare and schedule some auctions to launch while I was traveling so that I didn't completely lose momentum while away.

What I DIDN'T have to do was go to garage sales and thrift stores for more inventory. I DIDN"T have to spend time on Facebook catching up with friends' and acquaintances' activities. I DIDN'T have to be attending webinars and listening to podcasts. I DIDN'T have to be learning new technologies. I DIDN'T have to be pinning on Pinterest.

Now don't get me wrong, All those things that I didn't have to do still need to be done eventually -- some even routinely -- to keep my business and life moving forward. I just didn't need to be focusing on those things when faced with our travel time constraints. It's very liberating to be able to look at a task on my perpetual To Do List and dismiss it as "it's not important that I do that now", "that can wait" or "that will still be here to deal with when I get back." When I focused only on things that HAD to be accomplished before I sailed away, I was able to get them all done -- and with time to spare!

If I told you that you only had one day to get things done before you would be disconnected from the world for a week, what things would be on your I HAVE TO DO list? What things could you let go for a week? Could you distill your life down into what was truly important to accomplish that day and just get them done?﻿﻿﻿﻿I'd love to hear from you over on the Declutter With Diva Dawn Facebook Group. Let's talk about what your "day before" would look like.

It is sweltering hot here in Las Vegas right now. And we are deep into our monsoon season when just an inch of rain can create flash floods and make our streets turn into rivers. And then I hear about the torrential rainstorms that have swept through the Midwest and I see the photographs of the freeways, interchanges and neighborhoods in metro Detroit where I grew up and traveled through frequently, now flooded and impassable and covered in muck and stranded cars. And my heart hurts for everyone who is experiencing loss and frustration as they live through this fluke of Mother Nature.

But all this got me to thinking about the upcoming holiday selling season. Isn't Q4 a lot like those fast-moving and overflowing rivers of water? We poke along through the slower selling summer months and suddenly we begin having an uptick in sales volume. And pretty soon our sales are getting stronger and more frequent and the closer we get to the holidays the faster and faster the sales flow and the more shipping we have and the more time it takes to complete our daily routine tasks. And THEN the floodgates open and we are suddenly overwhelmed by all that we need to do to keep those sales brisk.

And our family celebrations and activities are escalating with the approaching holiday season, too. There's gift buying and card-sending and decorating and baking and school and church activities and parties to attend and family gatherings and ...

It all can just get so overwhelming. We want to enjoy the magic of the holiday season with our family and friends, but we also want to capitalize on the strong holiday sales and hear the almost constant Ka-Ching of sales racking up.

If you've been through a Q4 selling season online in the past you know what I'm talking about. And if this is your first Q4 - get ready to put your life in overdrive.﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿

So what can you do to avoid being overwhelmed and enjoy the holiday season?

Start now while we're coming out of the slow summer season. Get your inventory and systems in place and ready to handle a larger quantity of sales

Decide what is most important to you about the holiday season and set aside time to keep family traditions and celebrations meaningful and stress free

Determine what tasks are okay to let slide when you are extra busy shipping and listing in Q4. And make a plan to get those things done early next January.